Notre Dame Football: How the Irish Can Still Win 10 Games and Reach BCS

After two weeks of the season, it looked like all was lost for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Heck, after the first week of the season, any chance of playing for the national title were all but gone.

Yet while everything may be lost in South Bend, the Irish can still make something positive out of the 2011 season. As a matter of fact, they could still have a very good season and play in a BCS game.

While some can make the case that Notre Dame should be 3-0, and they probably should, the biggest thing is that they got into the win column yesterday with an impressive performance against then No. 15 Michigan State.

To get to where Notre Dame ultimately needs to get they have to go on a big winning streak that should begin next weekend in Pittsburgh.

Now the Irish have a knack for losing games that they should win, but on paper they should have a field day against Pitt. To be more exact, quarterback Tommy Rees and wide receiver Michael Floyd.

The Panthers boast one of the worst secondaries in the nation at the moment as evident by Iowa's 24-point comeback win against them on Saturday. Through three games, two of which were against Maine and Buffalo, Pitt has allowed over 1100 passing yards.

That's a good sign to get a Notre Dame win streak started.

One major reason the Irish can go on a big winning streak in their upcoming schedule. After Pitt, in no particular order, Notre Dame has home games remaining against Air Force, USC, Navy, Maryland, and Boston College; along with road tests at Stanford, Purdue and Wake Forest.

At first look, every game heading into the season finale against the Cardinal is win-able, which would set up a big final week of the season showdown against Stanford that could have BCS implications for both teams.

Yet, flip the coin and every game on the remaining Irish schedule is also lose-able. With the inconsistent up and down performance that Brian Kelly's team usually displays on both sides of the ball, Notre Dame could just as easy drop a handful of games as easily as they could go on a big winning streak.

The next couple of weeks become very important for Notre Dame. Wins at Pitt and Purdue can get the Irish on a streak and possibly eliminate some of the mistakes that continually cost this team, plus win those two games an that means the Irish only have to leave South Bend two more times the rest of the year. 

Rees becomes the key to the Irish running the table. He has played well since taking over and he has shown the ability to not only lead the Notre Dame offense, but has shown that he's a winner. The Irish need a leader and Kelly needs to turn to both Rees and Floyd and put the season on their shoulders.

Yet the biggest question mark the rest of the season is the Notre Dame defense.

They can't have meltdowns like they did against Michigan. They must show consistency stopping the run and pressuring the quarterback. They must force turnovers and then the offense must turn them into points.

That's a lot of what-ifs that need to happen for Notre Dame to get to the ten win mark, but if they can put it all together, the Fighting Irish can still find a way to sneak into a BCS game.